Hi-

We will be in L.A. in August and have narrowed our hotel options to the following:

Beverly Hills Hotel
Regent Beverly Wilshire
Loews Santa Monica
Le Meridien Beverly Hills

We will be with our three children, ages 8, 11 and 13 and think they might prefer the glamour of Beverly Hills to Santa Monica (we will be travelling on to San Diego, so they will get some 'beach' time).

Can anyone steer me towrds or away from any of these hotels. In each case, we will have one room with two doubles and a rollaway, so I am a little nervous about the rooms being too small.

Any help would be great!


Michele

I'm going to guess that the rooms at Loews will probably be the largest. My cousin and his wife were here in November, and they brought their 3 kids, 11, 16, and 18, and they managed just fine at Loews. My other cousin was here last week with his wife and kid (age 14), and they also stayed there. All of the kids (and the parents) loved the hotel -- nice pool, on the beach, close to everything.

The Regent is an older hotel, as is the Beverly Hills Hotel. They are more gentrified and less child friendly. Not that they are unfriendly towards children, because that would not be true, but more of a place you'd take the Sinatra set to, if you catch my drift.

I haven't been to the Meridien. But, if money isn't an issue, you might want to consider the Peninsula in B.H., which has a rooftop pool and the suites are quite large.

if large rooms are what your looking for try the wyndham belage right by bev. hills and great pool on the roof.
Try priceline i got it at less than 100 a night.

Michelle,

you've got to be kidding. You think they will prefer the glamour of Beverly Hills to santa Monica? Are you for real?

What 8 year old is into glamour? Beach all the way!

I have to agree with other posters. The kids will prefer Santa Monica. We stayed in LA (Beverly Hilton, sponsored by someone else) last December and found very little there for kids. But we very much enjoyed the day we spent in Santa Monica.

Thanks for (most of) your responses...it really helps. As for those who feel the need to express sarcasm over advice...get a life!

We are struggling to make the best decisions and make a great holiday for our family. We only know what we read in guidebooks and what we hear in the media. The concept of glamour appeals to our kids...you know Hollywood, Beverly Hills, stars...is that so unreasonanlbe...especially from the 13 year old?

Maybe next time someone asks for help, you can take the higher road and be more helpful than hurtful.

I've been to LA several times and I think your ideas about staying in BH instead of Santa Monica make sense to me and I can understand your kids finding that more exciting than Santa Monica. People are looney about Santa Monica on Fodors for some reason, it is overhyped. If you are going to another beach area, I think staying around BH or Hollywood is a better idea for a change. Lots of kids have seen TV shows, movies, etc about Beverly Hills and Melrose and would find it exciting to see and be around there, plus it's something to tell other kids back home instead of just oh we went to a beach.

It may sound corny, but it is fun to get one of those maps of the stars' homes (from guys on street corners or something) and drive around BH and look at them. Not only is it fun to see the homes (some may not be accurate) of stars, but the neighborhoods and homes are beautiful. Also, it's a more central location for other activities. I think it's a good idea, Michele.

Agree with Lydia (especially about Santa Monica, I don't even like to drive there to meet friends--ugh)

also make sure you go to television and radio musuem in bev hills.

I've actually seen more "stars" while roaming around Santa Monica than while spending time in Beverly Hills or Hollywood. Rodeo Drive really is too upscale to be of any interest to kids. Melrose Avenue would probably be more their speed. Pasadena is actually a nice town that appeals to all age groups.

Funny article in today's LA TIMES, Calendar about seeing stars at the Gelson's Market in Century City.

I love Pasadena, too.

Michelle, what did it say? (Don't want to dig it out of the recycling bin). That's MY supermarket! I've seen everyone from Rodney Dangerfield to Bill Bixby (when he was alive) to Alice Cooper there. The one thing that bugs me about the place is that the wealthier people have this unbelievable need to steal -- they eat while shopping and not pay for it. Unbelievable.
Meanwhile, you have the tour busses with people taking photos and videos of the produce section.
Makes for an interesting shopping experience.

Of those choices, I would pick the Beverly Hills Hotel because of it's "glamourous" location and reputation, your kids are bound to see it in movies and on TV for the rest of their lives and will always remember their stay there with you. Also, it is an easy right turn out of the hotel that will take you directly to the beach, and a left turn will take you to Highland, up one block to Hollywood Boulevard is the Walk of Fame, Footprints of the Stars, new shopping center, and the subway up to Universal Tour.

At the Beverly Hills Hotel, its even fun just to walk the sidewalks surrounding the hotel, browsing around at the homes of the rich and famous. The coffee shop is very good (and expensive), but you are close to "restaurant row" on nearby Beverly Drive, where I would suggest (for a family) The Cheesecake Factory, Mulberry Street Pizzeria and California Pizza Kitchen.

For anyone who doesn't have the budget to stay at Beverly Hills Hotel, we always recommend The Holiday Inn Brentwood-Bel Air which is well located near the Getty Museum and usually has very reasonable rates compared to the rest of Beverly Hills. Also a great location if you're checking out UCLA with future students.

I really think you should reconsider. With 3 kids (like I have) we always find that hotels such as Residence Inns, Embassy Suites or the like are so much easier! They have seperate living room, seperate bedrooms, some even have kitchenettes and all include breakfast. It keeps the cost way down, they're all very clean and so much more spacious! I can't imagine staying in anyother type arrangement. Yes, Santa Monica is the better choice of cities. Linda

Shannon,
Just what you said--you see a lot of people buying regular things ( somehow this is surprising)...she saw Juliet Prowse (when you was alive!) buying a few jugs of generic vodka, Jodie Foster buying milk, and her ulitmate star experience ..John Lithgow buying TP.

Michelle, I don't know what your budget is , but my cousin and her two children (8 and 5) stayed at the Beverly Hills hotel. They loved it. The staff made a big fuss over the kids, the pool was great, and the grounds are beautiful.

Thanks, Michelle. John L., huh. Not surprising; he lives right around the corner and we have the same vet.